Various types of foot-mounted equipment has been developed for travel or sporting use over snow covered surfaces; incorporating a number of different technologies. U.S. Pat. No. 405,516 issued to Watson is directed to a snowshoe incorporating an opening in the snowshoe. The opening permits the foot, which is secured to the snowshoe with a series of three or more transverse leather straps secured at suitable distances apart to the margin of the opening, to gain a slight purchase on the snow as the foot extends slightly through the opening. While this design is effective in permitting the user to travel on flat ground or uphill, it does not allow him to glide easily downhill.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,304 issued to Nyman, describes a snowboard with dual-acting interchangeable edges designed to provide increased tracking stability on straight ahead runs and increased carving power in turns. While arguably achieving these objectives, the Nyman design requires that one foot be removed from the snowboard to maneuver on flat ground or to get on to or off of chair lifts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,051, issued to Scherubl, discloses an alpine ski having specific proportions relating to length, width and sidecut for improved control and handling, particularly in deep snow. While the use of such proportions permit improved handling for the ski, the invention does not allow for snowboard-style turning and stopping. U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,078 issued to Vance describes a double edged snowboard having a lower central running surface and a pair of parallel outer running surfaces for use in turning. The three running surfaces are separated by an inner pair of edges and the outer running surfaces are flanked by an outer pair of edges. This snowboard achieves improved handling and stability through the use of its specially adapted running surface and edge system however, it still provides the user with difficulty maneuvering on flat ground and in using chairlifts. Further, this type of snowboard requires a significant investment of time in order for the user to master the skills required for operation of the board.
While other variations exist, the above-described designs for skis, snowshoes and snowboards are typical of those encountered in the prior art. It is an objective of the present invention to provide equipment that allows the user to enjoy the sport of snowboarding with a minimum investment in time to become proficient in its use. It is a further objective to allow the user to maneuver easily on flat ground without the need to remove one foot from the snowboard binding. It is a still further objective of the invention to permit the user to ride chairlift equipment with a minimum of danger and discomfort. It is yet a further objective to provide the user with the capability to easily carve turns and stop on both packed snow surfaces and in deep snow. It is still another objective of the invention to provide the above-described capabilities in inexpensive and durable snowboards that are adaptable for use with standard snowboard boots and bindings.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.